Pagina's

woensdag 28 oktober 2015

Days Of Halloween: Different types of (fake) blood

In today's post leading to Halloween I would like to talk about the different types of fake blood, and what I personally use them for.

Type 1: cheap blood
This usually comes in makeup kits that you can buy in several stores leading up to Halloween. This is in no way quality and will not work as the expensive blood does. This blood stains a lot, is way too drippy and has a fake red almost strawberry jelly color. I only use this to make clothing look disgusting or on makeups in dark places where it's more important that there is blood, but you won't actually have a close look at it.

Type 2: theater blood
This blood is used mostly for plays. It is bright red when it comes out of the tube, easily dilutable with water and when it dries up, it becomes a bit darker and crusty. This blood sometimes also comes in capsules and is (in most cases) safe to 'consume' although I wouldn't drink it or swallow big amounts of it. This blood is made to stand out from a stage, so it is very vibrant and fake looking. I mostly use this to make hand prints on clothing or people that will be walking around as a zombie, but since it is dilutable with water, it can be easily removed and will move when the person sweats.

Type 3: fake blood type 'fresh' Mehron - stage blood
This blood is made by companies such as Mehron and is made to look like fresh blood. It is a deep red color and when compared to real blood, there barely is a difference. It is made to be gooey and drippy and is a bit thicker consistency than actual blood. I use this to create 'fresh' wounds on zombies, where blood is dripping out of or open wounds that should looks bleedy. I also apply this at the edges of the mouth of zombies when they appear to have 'eaten' a brain or bitten a victim. In more realistic wounds, this is mostly the first blood I use to make wounds look open, for a vampire look, I don't recommend using it next to your eyes, so maybe use a dark eye shadow and make it drip starting about 0.5cm from your lash line.

Type 4: fake blood type 'old' Mehron - coagulated blood
This blood is realistic looking to be made to look like coagulated blood. This is darker then the other types of blood and is between a deep red and a brown color. I use this in zombie makeup to make the wounds look more old and often mix it with fresh blood to give a realistic look. On other makeups I use it only as an accent where needed to create depth in wounds or go around the edges to give a coagulated feeling.

Of these four types I can't see myself living without the final two that are more expensive, but work a lot better and are actually made for professional use. If you are only going to use blood once for Halloween, I would recommend going for blood type 1. If you do stage acts 'such as burlesque etc) I would recommend going for type 2, and if you are a special makeup artist or want to create makeups that look real and creepy, I would recommend going for types 3 and 4.